BEA

What book are you most excited about this year? Over at Library Journal, Barbara Hoffert has published her annual “BEA Galley & Signing Guide.” The handy resource will help you make sure you can find all the galley copies and authors you need at BookExpo America.

Check it out: “Because hunting through the aisles for the book or author you love can be a challenge, I’ve been tracking some of the show’s top titles, from large publishers and small, focusing on tote-away galleys from adult authors and key in-booth signings, always harder to pin down than signings in the Autographing Area. Plus, for the digitally inclined, I’ve embedded icons that will guide you straight to NetGalley—just another sign that those titles are hot.”

If you want to sample the books, Publishers Marketplace and NetGalley teamed up to create BEA Buzz Books, a digital collection of more than 30 samples of highly anticipated books–including excerpts from books by Junot Diaz, Barbara Kingsolver, Dennis Lehane and Neil Young. Follow this link to download the free consumer edition.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

Rock star and memoirist Patti Smith will host a lunchtime interview Neil Young at BookExpo America on June 6th.

Here’s more about the event, to be held in the Special Events Hall at the Javits Center: “Ms. Smith’s discussion with Mr. Young will focus on his upcoming memoir, Waging Heavy Peace to be published in North America by Blue Rider Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA), in fall of 2012.”

Smith won the National Book Award for her memoir, Just Kids. She is working on a film adaptation of the book with Tony Award winning playwright. If you want to prepare, check out this 10-hour long Spotify playlist linking to the music mentioned in Smith’s National Book Award-winning memoir.

In 2013, book lovers could get a chance to explore BookExpo America (BEA), the major publishing industry trade show that has been traditionally limited to industry professionals.

BEA event director Steven Rosato posted about the potential change on the show’s official blog. What do you think–should book lovers be allowed to attend BEA?

Check it out: “This will not happen immediately, but are looking at 2013 to shift BEA to a Thursday – Friday – Saturday, leaving the trade portion exclusive on Thursday and Friday so the industry can continue to meet and conduct the B2B business that is inherent to BEA and open the doors on Saturday for consumers built around author events, but also allow them onto the show floor to look behind the curtain, see what new works from their favorite writers will be coming out like ComicCon does.  This will also give a day of exhibits on the weekend that small but vocal portion of librarians and booksellers miss.” (Via Michael Cairns)

A comScore report revealed that 14 million American mobile users scanned a QR code in June–that’s six percent of all mobile device users.  Below, we’ve linked to QR code resources for publishing professionals who want to use these digital bar codes to sell books or link to digital extras.

More than 250 independent bookstores around the country now sell Google eBooks on their websites. However, it takes some tech savvy and effort to educate customers about these new resources.

At BookExpo America this year, we caught up with ABA/IndieBound web developer Matt Supko to collect tips for booksellers struggling to share eBooks with customers.

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At BEA 2011, we caught up with Book Country community manager Colleen Lindsay, collecting tips for writers who want to join the genre writing community.

If you want to explore other writing communities, check out eBookNewser’s Digital Writer Spotlight feature.

First, read and review three pieces of fiction on Book Country before posting your own work. It is required that all readers follow this rule to maintain “a community built around reciprocity.”

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As the publishing world concluded one last day of bookselling, panel discussions and parties at BookExpo America, GalleyCat continued to cover the conference.

Check out our BEA 2011 Cheat Sheet if you want to explore the conference and parties. Here are some links to our ongoing coverage…

Colson Whitehead Film Festival
More Than One Million Pages Link To Pirated eBooks
Copia Offers Free Bob Dylan eBook at BEA
Kobo To Give $10 Million To Reading Charity
Aaron Shapiro Focuses on ‘Users, Not Customers’

Introducing his upcoming Zone One at BEA this week, novelist Colson Whitehead created a massive list of classic films that influenced his novel.

Oddly enough, this GalleyCat editor has a soft spot in his heart for this particular movie collection. Below, we’ve linked to Netflix streaming movies and YouTube trailers for these classic movies (along with Whitehead’s subtitles). Warning–many of these films contain mature themes.

Here’s more about the book, from Whitehead: “If you are hung up on labels, yes, the book is ‘another genre outing’ for me. Zone One is a zombie novel in the way The Intuitionist is a detective novel. My tutelage in the apocalypse came from movies, as opposed to books. A film festival covering the master texts for Zone One would screen the following…” (Via Maud Newton)

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Hundreds of booksellers and publishing professionals flock to BEA every year looking for free books and galley copies.

Thanks to Copia, all our readers can enjoy a couple free BEA books. Until June 6th you can download a free eBook copy of Revolution in the Air – The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1957–1973 and Miss Entropia and the Adam Bomb. We also spotted some free crafty eBooks and resources at the conference. Follow this link to download those titles.

Here’s more about the Bob Dylan book: “Clinton Heylin has devoted his career to Bob Dylan’s work and presents here a comprehensive study of all of Dylan’s recording sessions. ‘A must for rabid fans.’–Seattle Times.”

As the publishing world stumbled through another day of bookselling, panel discussions, and parties, GalleyCat continued to cover events around the conference.

Check out our BEA 2011 Cheat Sheet if you want to explore the conference and parties. Here are some links to our ongoing coverage…

Sarah Dessen’s Whoopee Pies Served Up At BEA
QR Code Tools for Independent Bookstores
Indie Booksellers Choice Awards Winners Unveiled
Free Craft Books & Resources
The Banners of BEA 2011

The Back to the Basics panel discussion at BEA explored “the world of self-sufficient living from small or large-scale gardening, food preservation to crafts and knitting.”

The inspiring authors and librarians on the panel transported this GalleyCat editor far beyond the carpeted glass and steel confines of the conference center. Below, we’ve collected three free ways you can escape to this crafty side of the literary world.

Start or join craft groups at your local library. New York Public Library librarian Jessica Pigza shared some of her crafternoon events, ranging from zine making to paper doll making to vintage-inspired Valentines.

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